PB&J Cheesecake with Poured Ganache (how-to video).

Peanut Butter and Jelly is a staple in most children’s diets. In fact, I just read that Americans will consume billions, with a B, of them every year. I can believe it, since my kids picked it for lunch 9 out of 10 times, until very recently. I’ve gone through what must be 100s of pounds of peanut butter and even more jelly. They’re certainly easy to make, which saved me lots of time in the mornings before school, but I felt a little guilty packing it for them EVERY day. I mostly dreaded other parents finding out that my kids ate the same thing over and over. In my head I wanted them to eat bento boxes, with carved vegetables and seaweed salad, but, it was their lunch, their choice and they loved PB&J. The truth is that I love it too; almost everyone does, if we’re honest. Here’s a cheesecake that has all the fond memories of those childhood sandwiches, but it’s way more decadent and sophisticated.

Once in a while I find a new product that changes the way I cook and bake. I felt this way about the Silpat and the Microplane Grater when they first hit the restaurant kitchen scene. It was a eureka moment, since both saved time, money and provided results like nothing I’d used. This Lekue 9-Inch Springform Pan may be the coolest new toy in my kitchen. It is made by Lekue and uses the same technology as the beloved silicone mats. The base is made of ceramic, so it is lovely enough to serve on, which eliminates the need to remove the cake from the base. That, in itself, is brilliant, but the silicone also gives insurance that the cake will not stick to the sides, so there is no holding your breath as you remove it. I baked this cheesecake without a water bath. I need to test to see if it is waterproof, but that is asking a lot of a springform pan and I would continue to wrap the bottom in foil if I used it in water.

The pan is fantastic, but took some getting used to, because it is transparent and flexible. It has a pin (the black tab) that slides in and out to seal the pan to the base. You’ll see a better picture of the pin later in the post.

PB&J Cheesecake

Crust:

20 whole Oreos

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch salt

Cheesecake:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

5 eggs

2 yolks

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup jelly (if you are using one that is pale, you may consider a drop of food coloring to perk up the color)

Ganache:

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Making the cheesecake:

Preheat the oven to 325°F

In a food processor pulverize the Oreos, butter, sugar and salt.

Pour into the pan and pat flat with your finger tips, bringing the oreo crumbs up the sides slightly. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until set.

In a stand mixer, fitted with the Beater Blade, mix the cream cheese on low speed, scraping down the sides to make sure it is all smooth. Add the sugar and sour cream.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the salt and vanilla.

Split the batter into two bowls. Add the peanut butter to one bowl and add the jelly to the second.

Place the pan on a baking sheet. Spread the peanut butter batter over the oreo crust, smoothing out the top.

Very carefully add the jelly batter over the peanut butter batter.

Place the cheese cake in the center of the oven. Place a second baking sheet on a lower shelf and fill it with water. The water will create steam in the oven and prevent the cheese cake from developing a hard crust. Bake for about 60 minutes or until set in the center. The top will souffle slightly. Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 4 hours. After one hour in the refrigerate, loosely cover with plastic.

Carefully run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the pan. Pull out the pin.

Unmold the cake from the pan.

To make the ganache:

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate and butter. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, then stir gently, until totally smooth.

Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack that is sitting above a baking sheet, lined with parchment. This will catch the excess ganache.

This video shows you how to make the ganache, pour it over a cake and decorate the sides.

Let the cake sit on the rack until the ganache has set up, about 45 minutes.

To decorate the sides see the above video.

Use a thin Bread Knife, dipped in a pitcher of hot water to cut the cake.

When you cut into it, the peanut butter and jelly layers will reveal themselves.

The last time used a silicone bake ware was almost 5 yrs back. Didn’t like the wobbly ware and poked a hole right through while checking for doneness. The springform version sounds interesting. If I win one, I would try baking a classic newyork style cheesecake. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.

If I were to win one of these Leuke Springform pans I would first have to try your beyond tempting PB&J Cheesecake with Poured Ganache. I would also have to use the Gelato machine and put together some homemade icecream cakes 😉

what a great pan! I love the idea of the 2 flavor PB&J cheesecake with chocolate crust. I’m tired of metal pans that constantly have to be replaced because of rust. I definitely would use the Leuke Springform for cheesecakes, of which I make many, as well as lemon tarts, a savory Torte Milanese and deep dish quiches. Thanks for sharing.

I totally need one of these! I have a springform pan that is TERRIBLE and makes me angry every time I try to bake cheesecake. We make a lovely chocolate marble cheesecake for all the birthdays in my family. 🙂

Although I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I do love cheesecake so would like to try your recipe. I also have my own vanilla choco caramel cheesecake I’d like to try out in this cool looking mold!
Thanks for the recipe and the giveaway 😉

I have trouble making perfect cheesecakes; they never come out quite right. This pan might be the solution! I would so love to try your amazing looking and sounding PB&J recipe using a Leuke Silicone Springform Pan. Thanks for the giveaway!

I’ll use it for baking red velvet and cheesecake cakes for my red velvet and cheesecake cake (a layer of cheesecake between 2 red velvet layers). The cake is one of the best, therefore gets made a lot for my friends and family.

Zoe…. I go to your website for incredible recipes. So far I have made five desserts that were fabulous! Thank you for all the passion you put into your baking. Your photographs and easy instructions are fantastic (especially for some of the harder techniques) 😀

First order of business would be to recreate my very first cheesecake from way back in grad school, cobbled together from several recipes; Twice Maple Cheesecake. A pecan-graham crust with maple cheesecake filling and a maple glaze.

Oooh, I would definitely bake some kind of cheesecake – probably an oreo one! This recipe looks awesome, but I’m allergic to peanuts 🙁 i wonder if a soy nut butter substitute would bake up the same way…?

Your dual layered cheesecake looks wonderful. I happen to love cheesecake and my favorite cheesecake so far is a Brownie Latte Cheesecake – brownie layer on the bottom and coffee-flavored cheesecake on top. Yum! I also think this pan would work great for making an authentic Appeltaart which is a Dutch apple pie-ish recipe.

This looks terrific! I would probably use this pan to bake my family’s favorite and über sinful eggnog ginger snap cheesecake that drops us into a heavenly food coma around the holidays. Thanks for the great videos Zoe!!

I just made a lemon cheese cake with lemon curd which was heavenly but for just two people it is way to much I realy could use that smaller one to make a key lime cheese it would be just the right size for us

OK um, firstly, this cheesecake is my NEW FAVORITE THING. So much yumminess! And secondly, I’d definitely use it to bake this cheesecake or my great-grandma’s Black Forest Cherry Cake. Thanks for the giveaway!

This cheesecake looks SO decadent and delicious! I know if I made it for my boyfriend he would swoon – I’m thinking it might be just the ticket for Valentine’s Day. The other day I was thinking of making this Orange-Almond Cake (http://www.marthastewart.com/343647/orange-almond-cake) to use up all the extra navel oranges I bought on sale, but then I realized I had no springform pan to bake it in! I would be a very happy camper if I won and then I could bake both cakes!

The real question is what wouldn’t I bake in it lol. I would start with a chocolate mousse cheesecake with ganache recipe that I found on pinterest awhile back. Oh do I miss it. And then I would have to make follow it up with this PB&J Cheesecake. It sounds so yummy!

Hi Zoe, I would try making a baked apple dessert that is much like a deep dish apple pie. The recipe comes from a Junior League cookbook. The last time I made the recipe, the ingredients seeped through the crust and out of my springform pan…huge mess! This pan might just be the answer.

What a perfectly stunning cake, Zoe! Wow! And perfect ganache! I grew up eating pb & j sandwiches all the time and well on into adulthood, only stopping when I moved to France (no grape jelly and it was years before I could buy a jar of Skippy at a reasonable price). But oddly enough, my (French) sons won’t eat them. This gorgeous cheesecake, on the other hand, would be so much easier to get them to eat. This silicone springform pan is strange and wonderful…. fascinating! What would I bake in it? A flourless chocolate cake or I’ll repeat my chocolate-chestnut fondant but adding Cointreau and orange zest to it this time.

There is a chocolate mint cheesecake doing battle with a vanilla caramel cheesecake. The winner will meet its fate on the end of my fork. And, Z, may I just say that this springform is a TOOL, not a toy! TOOLS are necessary! Toys are frivolous. This a TOOL! WANT!!

Zoe,
Your cake looks stunning, as usual!
If I were to win this neat pan, I would make a Tiramisu Cheesecake. It would combine 2 of my all-time favorite desserts! A wonderful crust of graham crackers and butter (I’m a traditional girl) followed by some ladyfingers, with the cheesecake layer being a mix of mascarpone and cream cheese. A layer of chocolate ganache on top and some pretty swirls of coffee whipped cream adorning the top! That would be a dream come true!

I would love to have this pan! I would make my favorite neopolitan cheesecake, which could definitely benefit from a ganache.
When I selected play – all I could see was a video about apple pie and no ganache 🙁

wow this looks fantastic, to start with I would try this recipe, but have been doing more and more of the cheese cakes you post – started with the Bourbon Pumpkin and each has been a hit with family and friends.

Oh my . . . I would probably try my classic NY-style cheesecake recipe first – it is almost too good. But your pb&j version would definitely be on the list – sounds like such fun! Thanks for the contest.

I would absolutely love to make this cheesecake in such a wonderful pan! I, in fact, have not yet been able to buy a similar pan to make cheesecake even though I have always wanted to. I am a relatively new baker having recently moved out on my own, but I enjoy baking for the people around me so much!! : )

This is my first time discovering your blog and I love it! If I won the springform pan, I would try baking an Italian with Eggplant and Pasta Incaciata (where the springform pan is key) or I would attempt this lovely, beautiful pb&j cheesecake. I love your ganache video. Thank you for sharing!

Ohhhhh…pick just ONE thing to make in that beautiful pan? Impossible! I would make my favorite brownie cheesecake for sure. And Pumpkin cheesecake. I may even try an apple pie crumble….the possibilites are endless!

My little brother is highly allergic to nuts, so he only eats baked goods that my mom makes him. As she is not one to indulge in baking gadgets, she pretty much sticks to her good old bundt pan. I would love to win this for her, I think it would be enough to coax her into making something a little different for my brother. (I’ve also told her that I think a birthday cake is only legitimate if round, she says bundts are fine too. Back me up on this one!)

What a great recipe. I actually had a similar idea for National PB&J Day some time ago. My friends challenged me to celebrate the day with cheesecake (because I’m synonymous with cheesecake). Right now though I’ve been thinking Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake. And I’d love to try one of those pans!

Not a big fan of peanut butter which totally makes me (per my family) un-American, but this does sound delicious. Also, this is completely amazing tool! I was this excited when I found some small silicon panna cotta molds, it changed everything could completely see how this could revolutionize cheesecakes.

This might be the first time that I have been seriously impressed by a cake pan. I would love to have one and would first use it make a dulce de leche cheesecake with shortbread crust and caramel whipped cream (and the cheesecake in this post soon after, yowza!).

I would absolutely make this PBJ cheesecake as well as other cheesecakes including my Meyer lemon cheesecake and your pumpkin cheesecake which I made last November in a traditional springform pan. I would also use this to make ice cream layer cakes. This is a brilliant new baking tool- silicone sides with a ceramic bottom. Thank you Zoe for your great blog.

I have some friends with Celiac Disease who happen to love PBJ. I would love to make this cheesecake for them, but swapping out the Oreos for a gluten-free crust made with Chex. But I don’t have a good way to make cheesecakes, so I’d love a springform pan!

I would love to win this springform pan to make all kinds of cheesecake! I usually borrow a friend’s pan when I just NEED to bake a cheesecake. But I would make them more often if I had one for my very own! My favorite so far was a lemon blueberry cheesecake I found when I had an abundance of blueberries. This past Christmas I made an eggnog cheesecake that was soooo good. But, I would try this pb&J cheesecake first!
Thank you for the opportunity!

hi 🙂 Could you explain me how you add the jelly to the cheesecake filling? I’m not sure that is 1/2 cup of one jelly powder mixed with hot water or maybe 1/2 cup of jelly powder without water, added directly to the cheesecake filling? I will be grateful 🙂

Meg, are you perhaps referring to what Americans know to be Jell-O (a brand name) or gelatin dessert mix? What Zoë is using is what Americans know to be jelly: a clear, jelled product made with fruit juice, sugar, and pectin (usually). My UK friends use something called “jam sugar” to make it. Americans usually put jelly on toasted bread or crackers, or peanut butter sandwiches for children (of all ages). I hope this helps.

Following up my own comment to add that “jam sugar” is sugar that is already mixed with powdered pectin — you follow a recipe for measures of fruit and jam sugar. It’s been available in the U.S. (Kerr made it for a while) but isn’t commonly used here.

Thanks for your help:) I don’t know what you want to say by “regular jelly”. I’m from Poland, so we use different products.. In Poland we can buy the jelly – is similar to jelly-o , but we eat this for dessert , it’s in small pieces. But usually we make jelly at home by buying “jelly powder” f.ex: http://www.bangla.pl/zdjecia-dr-oetker-galaretka-rozne-smaki-up32028-2.htm .
We mix it with hot water, then we tip it into the dish and wait wait until it stiffens. It’s sth like the jelly, which “Bubbles” descirbed, but this jelly powder contains the gelatne and it needs only the hot water.

And that’s the point: I don’t know that Zoe adds this jelly liquid, only the powder or the pieces or big piece of “ready” jelly. We are from different countries and it’s a bit difficult to explain what I mean 😉 It’s a little complicated to show you clearly what I would you to know 😉
If you hava some photo of jelly, which Zoe used it will be perfect . Because I could understand better your product! 🙂

Ooo thank you very much! I understand know 🙂 I think that in Poland you can find this “jelly” under the name silimar to “jam” -now, I know what type of jelly it is 🙂 Sometimes one term is used in different situations and also the translation – meaning of the word “jelly” describes another thing than is used for the recipe, how wrote “Bubbles” is rather “jam sugar”.
Thank you Zoe! Now I can try your recipe 😉

I did it 😉 I have modified a little bit this recipe, I have changed oreos for other cookies and added our Polish typical ingredient. My jelly was brighter, but the flavor is fanatstic! I added to my blog 🙂 Aaaa, I had different “ganache”
I would like to add my photo but I don’t know how I can do it 😉
Thanks for recipe! 😀

I have just put this cheesecake in the oven but it did go wrong. I I don’t know if I over mixed the ingredients but my mix was so runny that the flavours didn’t sit on top of each other so I had to swirl them together lol. Hopefully it will still satisfy my husband as it’s for his birthday. If you have any tips, and I always have this problem when I make cream cheese frosting too, and I’m an over whipper 🙁

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Welcome to Zoë Bakes

I'm Zoë François and I love to bake. This is where I play with sugar and take the mystery out of baking everything from cookies to wedding cakes. I studied pastry at the CIA, worked in restaurants, write cookbooks and now you can also find my creations on the Cooking Channel, Fine Cooking Magazine, General Mills, Cooking Club Magazine and Breadin5.com. More...